Return of the Scorcher (1992) (30min) dir. Ted White
Documentary about bicycle culture and use around the world.
Director's website:tedwhitegreenlight.com
Available on DVD (as of 05/05) together with We Are Traffic from:
www.greenplanetfilms.org
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0105248
Velorution (1996) (27min) dir. C. Phred Churchill, Bruce Petschek
Subtitled: One City's Solution to the Automobile. When the USSR collapsed,
Cuba lost 80% of their oil supply. This movie documents how they bought
1.2 million bicycles, switched 5 bus factories to bicycle manufacturing,
educated riders on how to ride, changed the city of Havana to accommodate
bikes, posted bicycle signs, did job swaps to reduce length of commutes
and in the process created more human interaction and community.
DVD-R or VHS available for $30.00 (postpaid) from Seven Generations Video -
phone: (617) 876-9430 email: 7generations@comcast.net
mail: Seven Generations Video 44B Sacramento St, Cambridge, MA 02138
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0118067
Pedal (2001) (56min) dir. Peter Sutherland
Excellent documentary about bicycle messengers in NYC. Has finally been
released (May 2006) as a companion to a book of photographs. This is one of the
coolest films I've ever seen. Lots of interviews, lots of footage of riding
in the streets, much of that being shot from a skateboard.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1576873145
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0380622
Publisher: Powerhouse Books
Cyclotherapy (2002) (67min) dir. George Ferguson
Documentary about bike collecting. Have not yet tracked down info on
how to get this.
B.I.K.E. (Be Inclusive, Kill Exclusivity) (2006 - 89min) Jacob Septimus, Anthony Howard
Official Site: www.bike-films.com
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000TLWBFW
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0478097
Caravan/Prague (The Uneasy Road to Change) (2007 - 76min) Zachary Winestine
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000S1MM7K
You Never Ride Alone
The Eddy Merckx Story (1974) (110min) (Belgium) dir. Joel Santoni
French title: La Course en Tete, Flemish (Belgium) title: Steeds Op Kop.
Classic documentary about the great racer Eddy Merckx.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0257505
World Cycling
The Greatest Show on Earth
Classic documentary covers the 1974 Giro D'Italia.
Available on same DVD as The Eddy Merckx Story.
World Cycling
The Stars and The Watercarriers (1974) (90min) (Danish) dir. Jorgen Leth
Documentary covering the 1973 Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) bicycle race.
Follows Ole Ritter throughout. Also includes lots of racing footage featuring
Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Jose Manuel Fuente, Roger de Vlaemicnk,
Giovanni Battaglin, Gosta Petterson.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0200173
The Impossible Hour (1974) (48min) (Danish) dir. Jorgen Leth
A concentrated study of Ole Ritter's attempt to set a new record for the
one-hour race in Mexico City in 1974.
Available on DVD together with Stars and Watercarriers.
IMDB
A Sunday in Hell (1976) (110min) (Danish) dir. Jorgen Leth
Covers the 1976 Paris-Roubaix single-day bicycle race.
IMDB
Red Light Go (2003) (52min) dir. Manny Kivowitz, Ben Barroud, Toby Barroud
Documentary about Alleycat racing among bike messengers in NYC.
Official Site: www.redlightgo.ws
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0009S86RW
Critical Mass (2001) (55min) dir. J.K. Ballantyne
Documentary about bike messengers in Toronto
Official Site: www.dontshootthemessengers.com
The Need for Speed (2000) (59 min) dir. Katharina Otto
Documentary about bike messengers in NYC
www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1930290012
Bicycle Corps: America's Black Army on Wheels (2000) (57min)
20 African-American soldiers are sent on a 2,000 mile bicycle ride from
Montana to Missouri in 1897 to test theory that bicycles could replace horses.
PBS - purchase
PBS - outline of program
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0279689
Pro (2004) dir. Jamie Paolinetti
Official site: www.prothemovie.com
The Hard Road (2003) dir. Jamie Paolinetti
Official site: www.thehardroad.com
Hammer and Cycle (2004) (27min) dir. James Cocks
The Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge documentary.
Official site: www.bicyclechallenge.org
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0406821
Paperboys (2001) (41min) dir. Mike Mills
Looks at a group of bicycle paperboys in Stillwater, Minnesota.
Official Site
IMDB
Nasty's World (2002) (69min) dir. Steve Olpin
Action sports documentary about BMX champion Cory "Nasty" Nastazio.
Amazon
Hardihood (2001) (75min) dir. Nicole Hahn
Explores the world of women's mountain bike racing.
Amazon
Official site - www.hardihood.com
Along for the Ride (2005)
Documentary about bike messengers in San Francisco. In production.
Official site - www.alongfortheridemovie.com
Still We Ride (2005) (37min)
Covers mass arrest in NYC during Republican convention August 27, 2004.
More info here: www.stillweridethemovie.com
July 25th - The Secret is Out (1998) (120min)
Documentary covering the "police riot" at July 25, 1997 San Francisco Critical
Mass ride.
More info here: www.bclu.org/cm/july25.html
(I ordered this and never received it)
Beijing Bicycle (2002) (113min) (Chinese) dir. Wang Xiaoshuai
Starring Lin Cui, Xun Zhou
Great film! A 17-year-old boy from the country comes to the big city and
gets a job as a bicycle messenger. His bike is soon stolen. He finds it but
the story is just beginning. Gets into some issues of class warfare and urban
life. Could be seen as a variation of The Bicycle Thief. Lots of bicycles
(its China!) and even a bicycle chase scene. I highly recommend this one.
Interview with the Director
Article about the director
Amazon
IMDB
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) (92min) dir. Tim Burton (his first film)
Starring Paul Reubens
Very fun.
Amazon
IMDB
The Triplets of Belleville (2003) (81min) (French) (animated) dir. Sylvain Chomet
Unique and very special.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0001IN0MQ
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0286244
Official site: www.bellevillerendezvous.com
2 Seconds (1998) (100min) (French) dir. Manon Briand
Starring Charlotte Laurier, Dino Tavarone
A female mountain bike racer becomes a bicycle messenger.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00004UE8V
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0158446
Breaking Away (1979) (100min) dir. Peter Yates
Starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid
Won Academy Award in 1979 for Best Screenplay.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00003CX96
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902
American Flyers (1985) (113min) dir. John Badham
Starring Kevin Costner
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0000399WF
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0088707
Messenger (1986) (80min) dir. Norman Loftis
Starring Richard Barboza, Carolyn Kinnebrew, Scott Ferguson
A modern remake of The Bicycle Thief, set in New York City.
Out of print, hard to find, not released on DVD, Amazon has used VHS.
(Note - Xenon Entertainment Group version (1995) is duplicated in EP mode).
Rad (1986) (91min) dir. Hal Needham
Starring Lori Loughlin, Bart Connor
Lots of BMX action. As of 2005, has not yet made it to DVD.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0091817
BMX Bandits (1984) (88min) (Australian) dir. Brian Tenchard-Smith
Starring David Arque, John Ley, Nicole Kidman (14 years old)
Another BMX movie. As of 2005, has not made it to DVD.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0085204
Quicksilver (1986) (105min) dir. Thomas Michael Donnelly
Starring Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz
Bacon goes from being a stockbroker to a bicycle messenger.
Does not seem to be a highly regarded film.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00006S4O5
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0091814
Nebraska Supersonic (1999) (75min) dir. Jeremy Lerman
Unreleased.
Official site: www.nebraskasupersonic.com
Cyclo (1995) (123min) (Vietnamese) dir. Anh Hung Tran
Starring Le Van Loc, Tony Leung, Tran Nu Yen-Khe
Well I'm listing ths one since I'm trying to be pretty thorough here, but this
is definitely not one for everyone. Starts off with the familiar Bicycle
Thief riff - young man needs bicycle (bicycle taxi in this case) for survival,
bike is stolen by bad guys. That takes place in the first twenty minutes and
that's it for the bike, except that there are many street scenes throughout,
with lots of bicycles, tricycles, biketaxis and motorbikes. This is a
well-made and interesting film, but there is lots of violence and it can be
hard to follow. It is a dark and depressing film start to finish, set
entirely in the criminal underground of Saigon. I would recommend reading
some of the reviews at Amazon.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0000DIJP0
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt/0112767
List of Bicycle Films - Bicycle Universe
List of Bicycle Films - Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
The Bicycle Film Festival - www.bicyclefilmfestival.com
Check out the archives section to see what they've shown in the past. Details on
lots of short films.
PinkBike.com
Tons of mountain bike videos. Also extensive links page has section of
links to other sites with bike videos.
Nashbar.com
This cycling supply company carries some racing videos.
videoxsports.com
Lots of BMX, motocross, mountain bike videos.
worldcycling.com
Lots of racing videos.
Tons of cycling videos can be found on eBay. Go to BUY, select Sporting Goods, then Cycling, then DVDs and Videos.
Amazon links provided for reference/convenience. I earn no commisssion.
This page revised 07/08/09. First Posted 01/18/05